Donate a car, boat, plane, collection (art, books, coins) or other tangible personal property. (Nice way to simplify your life and avoid the hassles of selling.)

Give copyrights, patents, trademarks, or rights like oil, gas, water, or mining rights. (Nice way to give an income stream or illiquid asset.)

Buy into a pooled income fund. (Usually a very low threshold for an income producing charitable gift)

Buy a charitable gift annuity. (Be sure you are working with a reputable non-profit.)

Create a donor-advised fund. (Strategic way to get a deduction immediately, then decide later how to distribute the charitable funds.)

Set up a charitable remainder trust. (Complex but powerful planning tool for giving a larger gift and retaining a life income for yourself or others.)

Set up a charitable lead trust. (Sophisticated tool for transferring assets with tax avoidance on appreciation through a charitable gift of the income from an asset for a period of years to a non-profit.)

Create a retained life estate for your personal residence. (Give the asset, but continue to live there.)

Give an outright gift of property you own free and clear. (Make a large gift, avoid selling hassles, and get significant tax benefits.)

Sell a property to a willing non-profit through a “bargain sale.” (The lower than market value pricing creates the charitable gift.)

Donate financial assets like bank accounts and certificates of deposit through a “pay on death” designation (easy, no immediate impact.)

Name a charitable organization in your will for a dollar amount of money. (Make sure you actually have a will or the State will decide who gets your money.)

Name a charitable organization in your will as a beneficiary of an asset or a percentage of an asset (Another way to designate your intentions)

Name a charitable organization in your will as a beneficiary of a percentage of your estate. (A very effective strategy as it takes into account inflation as well as the possibility of a diminishing estate.)

Name a charitable organization as a beneficiary of an IRD –Income with Respect to Decedent– asset such as an IRA account or retirement plan (Give what may be the highest taxed dollars first.)

Many of these strategies require some advance planning and may have complex rules attached to them, but don’t let that stop you. Freeing up unused assets, for example, can increase your capacity to give. So can life income gifts and/or giving from your estate.

Once you have figured out what to give, think about the kinds of support you can provide to the organizations that matter to you: